The present invention relates to a GPS-installed all-azimuth camera and to a spatial data collecting device. The GPS-installed all-azimuth camera and spatial data collecting device picks up an image while moving between constructions or buildings in urban space and so on, further detects a position where the image is picked up, and collects the spatial data based on a picked up image data thus picked up and on a position data thus detected in order to form a three-dimensional model of constructions and buildings in urban space and so on.
In recent years, there has been remarkable progress in a technique of an all-out positioning system such as a GPS (Global Positioning System). As a result, even when a device with relatively low cost is used, a position measurement can be performed with high accuracy to an extent of several tens of centimeters.
The GPS as described above is installed on a moving object such as a vehicle, and cameras or a laser surveying device (laser scanner) are also installed. Thereby, it has been developed a data collecting system for collecting a three-dimensional data of constructions and buildings in urban space and for collecting images, and this data collecting system is made good use of the preparation of a map data to be used for car navigation and other purposes (JP-A-2006-119591 and JP-A-2000-194983).
In the system as described above, the map data is prepared in such manner that the three-dimensional data of the buildings obtained by the system is reflected on a map prepared in the past by using methods such as a manual positioning or a fitting based on an arithmetic processing and so on. In the preparation of map data described above, not much high accuracy is required.
However, it is difficult to obtain the data with high accuracy in the conventional system. Therefore, it is not suitable for a survey to compare the map data prepared in the past with the current and actual building in urban space or for a survey to match the map data-prepared in the past with the actual building.
In case where such surveys as described above are conducted, it is necessary to obtain the three-dimensional data of the building in urban space and so on with higher accuracy. Also, it is necessary to accurately identify positions of camera or laser scanner to obtain the data in themselves for obtaining the three-dimensional data with higher accuracy.
JP-A-2006-119591 discloses a spatial data collecting device of conventional type. Referring to FIG. 7, a description will be given now on approximate arrangement of the device described above.
In FIG. 7, reference numeral 1 denotes a vehicle, numeral 2 denotes a video camera, numeral 3 denotes a GPS, numeral 4 denotes a vehicle velocity sensor, numeral 5 denotes an azimuth sensor, and numeral 6 denotes a storage device.
The vehicle 1 moves while images are taken by the video camera 2, and a video data picked up in association with the moving of the vehicle 1 is obtained, and a position data of the video camera 2 is obtained by the GPS 3 at the same time as the image pickup. Further, an image pickup direction of the video camera 2 is determined by the azimuth sensor 5.
Based on a position information of the video camera 2 as obtained by the GPS 3 and an azimuth (image pickup direction) as obtained by the azimuth sensor 5, a relative position information between the object to be detected as detected from the video data and the video camera 2 is calculated. Based on the relative position information thus calculated and the positioning information as given above, the position information of the object to be detected is generated.
A data collecting device of conventional type has a structure where the GPS 3 is installed on the video camera 2. A reference position of the GPS 3 and a center of the image picked by the video camera 2 are disposed at such positions as separated from each other by a certain predetermined distance. For instance, in case where the vehicle 1 is tilted, a position deviation occurs in horizontal direction between the video camera 2 and the GPS 3, and the measuring position of the GPS 3 does not necessarily reflect an accurate position of the center of the image picked by the video camera 2. Accordingly, it is difficult to obtain the three-dimensional data of a building in urban space and so on with high accuracy.
As shown in FIG. 8, a road surface place-along-the-route photography vehicle 11 is shown in JP-A-2000-194983. The road surface place-along-the-route photography vehicle 11 comprises a film camera 12, a distance measuring device 13, a steering angle detecting device 14, a GPS 15, a displacement sensor 16, a central control device 17, and a gyro 18. The road surface and place-along-the-route are filmed by the film camera 12. The video information as taken on the road and surface place-along-the-route are associated with a position information of the place to be filmed as obtained by the GPS 15 and/or a road surface information of the place to be filmed, and the data are stored and/or displayed.
Also, in JP-A-2000-194983, the film camera 12 and the distance measuring device 13 are disposed at such positions as separated from the GPS 15. In case where the direction of the road surface place-along-the-route photography vehicle 11 is changed or in case where the road surface place-along-the-route photography vehicle 11 is tilted, the deviation may occur between the position information detected by the GPS 15 and the positions of the film camera 12 and the distance measuring device 13. As a result, error may occur when the image data taken by the film camera 12 is associated with the position information.
Therefore, also in JP-A-2000-194983, it is difficult to obtain the three-dimensional data of a building in urban space and so on with high accuracy.